About
IOTA India
The India Section of the International Occultation Timing Association, coordinated by Jyotirvidya Parisanstha, Pune.
IOTA is a volunteer science and research organization established in 1983. It gathers precise timings of astronomical occultations and develops resources that help observers plan, record and report these events.
IOTA India provides predictions of stars occulted by asteroids and the Moon, encourages observers throughout India to participate, and helps connect amateur observing with scientific analysis.
Why occultation observations matter
When an asteroid passes in front of a distant star, observers distributed across the shadow path can record the exact moments the star disappears and reappears. Combining those timings can improve knowledge of an asteroid's shape, size and orbit. Lunar occultations can also contribute to double-star measurements and studies of the Moon's limb profile.
India Section team
IOTA India is coordinated by Jyotirvidya Parisanstha, Pune, one of India's long-standing associations of amateur astronomers.